(Man, time does fly. Last June we featured a guest post from New Zealand metal blogger extraordinaire Steff Metal introducing us to six NZ metal bands. Steff saw my appeal for guest posts a couple of weeks ago and, awesome woman that she is, she responded with today’s feature on still more metal from her beautiful homeland.)

After writing about NZ Metal Bands for NCS, I made a promise to Islander and a few other people that I would share a list of some of my favourite underground New Zealand metal bands. Possibly this was a year ago – times passes, I have steamtrains to drive, mad Scottish pirates to interview, and sheep to perform unspeakable acts upon.

While our more popular metal bands – 8 Foot Sativa, Just One Fix, Tainted, Sinate – etc, bear a striking resemblance to many popular US bands, our metal underground takes inspiration from all over the world. With a population of just 4 million, a young, rugged countryside of jagged cliffs and blackened shores, and an indigenous culture with a history of brutality and cannibalism, it’s no surprise our metal tends toward the brutal side.Continue reading »